NEW DELHI: A change of religion will not automatically open the door to backward class reservation based on a person’s former caste identity. The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a Madras High Court ruling that a person converting to Islam cannot claim backward class reservation simply by relying on their social status before conversion.
A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar dismissed the Tamil Nadu government’s challenge to the High Court judgment. The ruling also puts a stop to a 2024 government order that allowed people from certain Hindu backward communities and Scheduled Castes to obtain certificates identifying them as Backward Class Muslims after converting to Islam.
Previous caste status cannot be transferred
The Supreme Court made it clear that conversion to Islam does not automatically make a person a member of any of the seven Muslim communities notified as backward classes in Tamil Nadu.
“A person who converts to Islam by that act alone doesn’t become a member of one of the seven notified backward class social communities in the State,” the bench said.
It added that a person’s former caste status cannot simply be transferred to the Muslim backward class category. A private religious body also cannot conclusively decide whether someone qualifies for such benefits.
The court said social backwardness associated with a person’s earlier community, by itself, cannot establish membership of a different backward class after conversion. A person seeking reservation must meet the legal requirements applicable to the community under which the benefit is claimed.
What the Constitution says about Scheduled Castes
The bench also examined the constitutional rules governing Scheduled Caste status.
Under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, a person professing a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot be recognised as a member of a Scheduled Caste. Consequently, a person converting to Islam, Christianity or another religion outside these three categories loses Scheduled Caste status under the existing framework.
The court said reservation and other statutory benefits linked to membership of a particular social order cannot be claimed solely on the basis of a person’s earlier identity after conversion.
It also clarified that moving from one religious community to another does not automatically establish eligibility for affirmative action under Article 16(4) of the Constitution, which allows reservation in public employment for backward classes that are inadequately represented in state services.
What happens if a person returns to Hinduism?
The judgment also addressed cases in which a person converts to a non-Hindu religion and later returns to Hinduism.
The court said such claims cannot be decided merely by looking at the person’s original caste status. Authorities must independently examine the facts to determine whether the original caste or social identity has genuinely revived and whether the person meets the applicable constitutional and legal requirements.
In other words, reconversion alone does not guarantee the restoration of reservation benefits.
Seven Muslim communities covered by Tamil Nadu law
The Madras High Court had struck down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted people converting to Islam from Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, Denotified Communities or Scheduled Castes to be treated as Backward Class Muslims.
The order allowed them to obtain community certificates identifying them as members of one of seven notified Muslim communities to access reservation benefits.
These communities are Ansar, Dekkani Muslims, Dubekula, Labbais, including Rowthar and Marakayar, Mapilla, Sheik and Syed.
Their backward class status is recognised under the Tamil Nadu Backwards Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Act, 1993.
